While hotels and restaurants are hoping to cash in on Euro 2012, Ukrainian citizens are also thinking up ways to make money from the tournament.
Internet forums have been full of discussions, and some newspapers have even produced guides how to become a Euro mini-entrepreneur.
Five main plans have emerged: renting out an apartment, organizing paid sightseeing tours, making or selling souvenirs, selling meals for hungry fans and providing taxi services.
Given the high prices of hotels, some fans may be tempted to rent out apartments, perhaps using one of several websites and real estate agencies that offer help. Prices for apartments start at 50 euros per day, with the average price over 100 euros.
“Apartment owners are crazy about Euro,” said one real estate agent, who asked not to be named as he wasn’t authorized to talk to the press. “I get all these calls from persistent old ladies who are going to their dacha for one summer month to free their Kyiv apartments and ask me to rent it to some fans. They never ever rented their apartments before, but now they are anxious to do it. It seems that everyone has gone crazy about this one month of Euro. Everyone wants to make a fortune out of it.”
Accommodation fever is making life harder for some locals. Nellie Verner from Kyiv was renting the same apartment at Obolon district for six years, when last fall her landlord asked her out because of his Euro plans.
“He said he wanted to redesign it and rent it out to foreign fans. He planned to make Hr 6,000-Hr 7,000 from this one Euro month,” said Verner, who together with a roommate used to pay Hr 3,300 (330 euros) per month.
Real estate agents say they are not pushing daily rents during the tournament in order not to lose loyal clients.
So-called “gypsy cabs” are also set to be a popular way for Ukrainians to cash in on the influx of tourists – even among those who have never done it before. Dmitry Zhuk, a manager at a Kyiv-based construction company, is planning to drive fans around town after matches. He said he wouldn’t hike prices too high.
“Of course, I know that there are going to be some drunk guys among the fans. But that’s just something you must be ready for when you are going for gypsy cabbing,” he said. “I’m not sure how to set the price, but I definitely won’t be trying to rip off foreigners, demanding 100 euros for a 15-minute ride. I think I’ll find out what taxi prices are and maybe add about 20 percent to that. But generally, I expect to get more fun than profit.”
Some Ukrainians have been seized by a rather stranger entrepreneurial bug. Stepan Shytov from Hust in Zakarpattya Oblast is selling earth packed in boxes for Hr 50. The 34-year-old calls it a “Souvenir Microlot of Ground.”
Shytov ordered 1,000 boxes with the same logo, each one with a number related to fictitious street. The ground comes from a place near Dolyna Nartsysiv, or Narcissius Valley, a famous nature reserve in Zakarpattya. Shytov has big hopes for football fans and their dollars.
“So far I only sold about 100 of them, mostly through my website, but I hope to make good sells during Euro 2012,” Shytov says. “I’m counting on fans who’ll come to see Narcissius Valley and would like to take a ground from here as a souvenir.”
Others are trying to profit from illegal ticket scalping. Local advertisement websites are full of dealers offering tickets for final for 700 euros and more, while the official price for them is 50 euros. There’s no guarantee, of course, that the tickets are genuine.
Kyiv Post staff writer Olga Rudenko can be reached at [email protected]
